Carry_G Wrote:Orderer:
Obsessed:
I'm a picker and scratcher especially when nervous, bored or mad. I pick and scratch my scab, wounds and pimples. Skin needs to feel soft and even! I know it doesn't look nice but I can't help it, I MUST do it.

I had NO IDEA this was a part of OCD - I do this too!!! Badly - I put it in a catergory of Borderline Personality Disorder. Kinda of like cutting but instead picking ... it is compulsive though - its like I can't stop -- I can't stand to see pimples on skin and it makes me feel better after I have picked them. Interesting .. you said that.

âThe flesh endures the storms of the present alone, the mind those of the past and future as well as the presentâ - Epicurus

I have a little of Washer & Cleaner (if by little means washing my hands a lot, my hair 5 times and spending more than 3 hours in the bathroom) hahah happy3 guess I'm denying it.
I'm a Checker for excellence, (eats lot of my time and drives me insane)
I'm a Orderer for excellence too ( spend a lot of time re-arrenging things and can't help it)
I have a little of Hoarder (there are things I can't get rid of) plus I like to collect things which annoy my parents a lot!! :lol:

I'm definitely an orderer... but only when other people are around. When I'm alone, I feel fine. But when other people are around, Everything has to be PERFECT. I have to be under a certain weight [which I can't do this because I'm pregnant now...], my hair has to look good, my makeup has to be perfect, I have to smell good, I have to be CLEAN every time I go out in public. Because I'm constantly afraid that people are gonna judge me, or they're gonna claim I'm the nastiest in the world.
Both of which have happened to me in the past.

thirteen Wrote:I'm definitely an orderer... but only when other people are around. When I'm alone, I feel fine. But when other people are around, Everything has to be PERFECT. I have to be under a certain weight [which I can't do this because I'm pregnant now...], my hair has to look good, my makeup has to be perfect, I have to smell good, I have to be CLEAN every time I go out in public. Because I'm constantly afraid that people are gonna judge me, or they're gonna claim I'm the nastiest in the world.
Both of which have happened to me in the past.

Hi Thirteen

it sounds more a fear of being judged by others rather than OCD. When you were judged in the past how far did it go and how did it make you feel?

Why do dogs bark?

They are not barking, they are talking in dog. Obviously you don't understand the language.

1) I am definitely a Washer and a little bit of a Cleaner.
2) A little bit of a Checker - like for checking if my car door is locked, or if I zipped up my ziploc bag in the freezer all the way. Here is my strange rationalization with the ziploc bag: I am a vegetarian, and my roommate sometimes has raw meat in the freezer. I am scared of raw meat, and I feel as if somehow the raw meat "particles" will get on my food if it is not zipped up all the way. I feel as if I am decreasing my "checking" behaviors though, so that is a relief.
3) I am an Obsesser - with certain people and songs, mostly. When I am walking to class and am listening to my iPod, I have to get a "good" song in my head so that I won't feel embarrassed when I see people and am thinking of that song (if that makes any sense)
4) I have also recently concluded that I struggle with scrupulosity. For some reason I have to be very honest and feel the need to confess many things that I believe I shouldn't have done. Or I obsess over conversations that I've had where I thought I offended someone. Or if I stole or cheated.

Ugh, everything but a hoarder. Obsessing is the worst, and ordering and cleaning are just under that.

It's okay though, because one psychiatrist told me that because all of my rituals are internalized and because I mostly obsess treating the OCD wasn't important. Not that the OCD is huge contributor to my other issues or anything.

I def pick and scratch and fidget and bite my nails. I HAVE to get my nails done so they are smooth (with acrylics- just a mani does not make them feel nice enough) or I will bite them to bits. any scab or pimple or bump I can not leave alone. its all worse when I am nervous and I only fidget bad when nervous to pull wrinkles out or make the bottom part of my shirt land a certain way (not because of how I look, just need to do something).
At work I have to have things a certain way. I hate it someone uses my desk and even leaves a rubber band out because i know i would NEVER leave one left out. But somehow my crazy organizing doesn't really make it home and just stays at various jobs i've had through the years. *shrug*

~Knowledge is the enemy of faith~~When I was young and irresponsible I was young and irresponsible~

I can see how orderer tendencies could help alleviate other OCD tendencies.

For example:

Checkers - Having a strict order in which to check windows, or a strict number of locked door handle turn attempts (to check whether a door is locked), would help keep repetitive checking to a minimum.

Cleaners - Having a well planned order in which to do tasks, would help keep the number of hand washes to a minimum; and a planned ritual (as opposed to a haphazard ritual) would help keep the amount of time spent per hand wash to a minimum.

I'm no psychologist, but would OCD be not just about magnitude of obsession but imbalance also?